Monday, February 27, 2006

60 comments:

You know... This is exactly how I feel. Some things need to be said but people are generally out there saying things to appease and not to spark positive change in people's lives. My mission is to change that.

This is so funny and weird for you to join our blogosphere but we are a very welcoming community, so welcome.

Great audio post hammer, much appreciated for someone as popular as you to join the blogging community. I will definately enjoy reading and hearing your blog entries both now and in the future. I don't know if you've ever heard of RSS, but it's a way to read the news without actually having to go to each and every website... in other words, when a site updates, you know immediately. Go to www.feeddemon.com, and download that stuff. It's excellent. ;) I use it everyday, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to catch up to the news or other people's blogs.

Oh, and you can learn a little bit about me at my real website, because I don't blog on blogger anymore. It's at www.krisandapril.us

i thought for a moment that you'd abandoned your blog....like the updates, and am really digging your blog. i didn't think i would (thought it would be too commercial) but i do. pleasantly surprised!!!

Nice work Hammer....I agree with you 100%. We will keep a close watch on your blog and appreciate what you are trying to offer your fans. Good lookin'Please take a look at my web store called coolestshop.com and we also just started blogging at coolestblog.com and others....take care and keep fighting the good fight! peace

It is great to see you on here! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your honesty about what a family should be modeled after. Kids today need to see that there IS a better life for them out there only found in a relationship with their heavenly Daddy, and Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks for your honesty.

Congratulations! You have been chosen as the official C & C Lo's Neighbor of the Month for the month of February. This honor is being received, by being featured as a "Blog of Note" on Blogger's homepage, and after passing our rigorous standards.I agree that it's great when celebrities use their popularity to make other people aware of some of the problems in the world. But for artists there seems to always be a struggle between the art they make, music for example, and messages they try to convey outside of their art. They have to ask themselves in what way their art will be influenced, or even compromised, by things they do or say outside of their role as an artist. While we can easily distinguish between the role of a football player on and off the field, a similar distinction does not seem to exist for artists. So in the end, an artist is always an artist, and everything they do or say in public becomes part of their artistic expression. To me it seems as if this is, at least to some degree, a dilemma artists face when it comes to showing social responsibility.

mchammer for real???i remember listening to your music back in the early 90's when i was still in high school.good to see you're still around...u cant touch this brings back long memories...oh yeah and i watched your concert in malaysia...maybe about 12 years ago...gaining momentum hammer...

If God allows you the opportunity to get rich again hammer do what jesus would do use your riches combined with your voice to help your people. We need more than your wisdom to change our world it is going to take serious investment in our people by our people to change the things that you complain about in your blog.Remember when you were on top of the world? You did not sacrifice your riches at the time to help your people. Do not make the same mistake twice.

morfeeus,your statement is 100% false. I put 200of my people on my payroll at a cost of 1 million dollars per month and thats a fact. But you are right that we need wisdom and resources. I have certainly put my share in.I will continue to contribute both finances and word.

when do you think the hammer pants will be back in style? i saw a pair at the mall the other day but they were darker colors. i specifically remember yours being brighter. and no one rocked the rayon shirts like you did. i tried and failed miserably. although i suppose you could afford silk.

Why does it always have to be about "my people" and "your people" and all that? Why do we need to constantly drag out the racial prejudice? Don't people realize that you're giving it even more power by publicizing it and hyping it up? I just don't understand why people of all colors can't just be people, instead of 'my people' or whatever. I mean all skin colors have the same basic problems... you might consider "your people" to be poor african americans from the ghetto. I might consider "my people" to be poor white folks living in trailer homes in run down trailer parks. Either way, both groups of people need better education, better jobs, and better lifestyles. I guess I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but the racial conflict jawns make me feel ill.Nightlife Community Development BlogThe Truth About Mad Cow Disease

Wow, very impressive. Glad to see that you are blogging. I was in the Navy also, retired in 2000. I served with some guys who knew you from your navy days. Good luck in all you do, and I wish you well.

I won't take up too much room since you've had alot of feed back already. I enjoyed the audio and I think you are right about saying what needs to be said and not the one who people will say in the future put his head in the sand.

Good luck saying what you have to say and welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. Blogging has inspired me in so many ways!

Well my goal was to create stimulated debate on the issue. We have to be able to talk about these issues in order to better understand and respect each other. Racism is ugly period. And Yes African Americans can be racist. Lets do all we can to work together to end all racism. Thank you for your honest thoughts.

It makes me laugh when people tell other people to "just get over the racism." I am a Christian, single Hispanic mom raising 7 kids and I live in a Confederate Flag Zone. Anyone watch Crash? That's what its like. I don't go out deliberately looking to be discriminated against. People make snap judgements and they run with it. If you are not a minority, then you can't understand what it is like to be discriminated against on a daily basis.

One more thing, I remember watching the VH1 (I believe it was Behind The Music or Driven) episode where your life was put on display for everyone to see. They discussed all the millions that you were paying all your friends and family on your payroll. How you paid for all their airfare and hotel accommodations while on tour. You tried to bring people up the ranks with you. I also saw that concert (on TBN) where you received all the applause and you got down on one knee and gave GOD the glory. It takes courage to stand for God anywhere. Even more so in the public eye. Press forward, finish the race and let the haters hate. God will deal with them.

Only God knows the heart and he receives those that are repentant with open arms. He is the only one that can judge you. There is none among us without sin and no one can cast stones! Those that don't get it, just need prayer and maybe one day they will understand. Being a Christian doesn't mean one is perfect. It means one admits they are flawed and is surrendering to a God that is PERFECT.

Has anyone seen the PBS documentary called "A Class Divided" or read the book?

I was introduced to this program in a diversity workshop I attended for my company. Until I saw this short film and then read the related text, I had always sort of had a thought in the back of my head that African-Americans, Hispanics, and others who were discriminated against acted in certain ways that "brought on" discrimination. Sounds, strange, right? Why would anyone act in such a way as to encourage others to discriminate against them? And, yet it is a view I've heard from others as well.

I have to say this short documentary and book really gave me a new perspective. It's not as simple as I once thought. This documentary followed an experiment done by Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small all-white Iowa town in 1968 (interesting that it coincides with Mr. Hammer's date, hmmm? It is because she implemented this lesson the day after MLK, Jr. was assassinated. She wanted to help her children understand what it was he died for). Ms. Elliott divided her class into two groups based soley upon an arbitrary trait: eye color - the blue-eyed people and the brown-eyed people.

She had the brown-eyed people put on collars so they could be easily identified. Then, she proceed to tell them that for the first day, the blue-eyed (I think) people were better than the brown-eyed people. They were cleaner, smarter, more respectful, etc. Basically, if there was a positive trait...it was attached to the blue-eyed children. During that day, anything that a blue-eyed child did that was even remotely good was lauded and applauded. Everything remotely "bad" that a brown-eyed child did was scoffed at and made fun of. You would be shocked to see what happened. I really think everyone should check this out if you can find it (and I'll provide a link to a site at the end of my commentary).

Essentially, the end result was this - a class full of happy, kind, caring and well-bonded children turned into two opposing groups. The blue-eyed children tormented the brown-eyed children, acted as though they were superior and actually did better than ever at their studies - and this occured even between classmates who were easily categorized as inseparable best friends just the day before. On the other side, the brown-eyed children who also were usually happy, joyful souls became sullen and withdrawn and actually exhibited less academic prowess than they had the day before.

On the second day, the roles were switched. And, despite Ms. Elliott's believing that the same thing couldn't happen two days in a row since they had already done the experiment, it did. The only difference? The brown-eyed children who had been given a pretty nasty taste of how it felt to be discriminated against were a little less harsh than their blue-eyed classmates had been before. Still, though, the brown-eyed children excelled while the blue-eyed children's academic skill dropped below even pre-experiment levels.

For me, this was a real eye-opener. I can now see that certain minority groups act in ways that are less than becoming and perpetuate the belief that they are inferior, but I also understand that their experiences in life which have conciously or subconciously suggested this to their psyche plays a part. It is really a nasty vicious circle that could potentially never be resolved unless we're all willing to look beyond skin color, eye-color or any other arbitrary trait and see the person and the *soul* that is inside and value that.

I personally believe we have a long row to hoe here since our society is so focused on exteriors anyhow...but with materials and excercises like these, I think we can at least begin to see put ourselves in another's shoes and see things from a different perspective...which ultimately is what it's all about in every conflict known to man.

Thanks for "listening." Have a look at the site below for more information on this insightful program.

What a very interesting dream you have shared! Welcome to the blogosphere too. Glad to see that you are still too legit to quit:) Check out my blog if you wanna see some physics stuff and minor ramblings:) Have a nice day:)

hey dude, i know this is kinda weird, but as your big fan I'd like you to join my website www.blogsplode.com which is also a weblogging site but has loads more cool features than blogger... for example, you can upload your music, videos, it has a built-in mp3 player, you can play your voice messages using the podcast player and many more that will come useful to your blogging experience..

Great post! This dream (and your song) represents exactly what I think is our evolution. As a parent I feel that it's extremely important to teach our children that it's not about race. Whether we believe it or not, we do treat others differently based on cultural differences (especially post 9/11). Our children need to know how to handle this, how to realize the difference without acting upon it.

Children learn most by copying what they see. That means, whether you have children or not, we all have a responsibility to future generations to put a stop to it all.

Yes, Mark and Melissa I saw that documentary years ago in high school. It's one that I think, perhaps, could use an update. No, things aren't as bad as they were back in 1968 but there is still a major difference in how we treat each other. With todays technologies, I'm sure there's a way to do it with many more than just a classroom of kids. Hmmm... I think I may have just created a project for myself...

Hammer, I went to your concert last night in Orem, Utah. You can still put on a great show man. This is the 3rd time I've been to your concert. The first time was when I was 14 years old 20 years ago. I have always admired the way you have handled yourself through the good times and the challenges you have faced. You are truly a class act and I wish that the artists today were more like you. You are a credit to the music industry.

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